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January 09, 2010
Are 90% of Languages Doomed to Die?
The English language (American-style) is my native tongue and I am thankful for many reasons to be born into what has become the world language across businesses, cultures and ethnicities. But sometimes I worry about the damage done to the isolated language groups. Perhaps, just perhaps, we have some nuances of meaning and depth which might be lost forever as the English language barges across the linguistic landscape. As always, John McWhorter has something to say....
...about this.
As much as I dislike the residual imperialism inherent in the "conquest" of other languages, I, and McWhorter, can't help but feel that, ultimately, and for the vast majority of us, a single language is the most reliable tool of peace and opportunity.
But I, and most ESL teachers, have seen the human dislocation. The formula is all too familiar; the immigrants barely speak English, their children are comfortable in both languages and the grandchildren have almost no linguistic connection with their own culture.
Or, as McWhorter puts it;
"As people speaking indigenous languages migrate to cities, inevitably they learn globally dominant languages like English and use them in their interactions with one another. The immigrants' children may use their parents' indigenous languages at home. But they never know those languages as part of their public life...These children will not know the indigenous languages of their grandparents, and thus pretty soon they will not be spoken. This is language death."
Our respect for this difficulty - and for the language of origin of our students - can speak volumes.
Tread lightly as we journey together in this new era.
We are all always learning. And we, as well as the world around us, are always changing.
It is always more fun to learn together, so let me know what it is about English that you find confounding, infuriating or endlessly intriguing.
Listen, read and speak. Make your new language your own.
My best to you as you make your way through this intriguing , constantly shifting linguistic landscape.
Morf
About the author of this entry:
Morf has a B.A.from the Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington and an MAT (Master's in Teaching English) from the University of Washington (Seattle). Morf prefers international and independent films, foreign foods he can't pronounce, music no one else has heard of and riding his bicycle in foreign cities.
Posted by mmorf at January 9, 2010 01:41 AM
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